No More

I'm watching a CNN program about North Korea and the incredibly brave people who smuggle people and videos out of that hellish country upon pain of death or worse if they're caught. I wish the whole world would come together and say "No more" to the North Korean government and be prepared to do what's necessary to back up their decree. But, of course, they won't, and untold thousands of people will continue to die of starvation and disease, and those who live, except for the fortunate few, will live a nightmare that never ends.

What should countries like the U.S. do? If we impose sanctions against North Korea, the common people will be the ones who suffer most, although it's difficult to imagine them suffering much more than they do already. If we go to war with North Korea, how many people on both sides would die or suffer horribly under the best of scenarios? But if we do nothing, how many people will die or suffer horribly under that awful, awful regime for years if not decades to come? And what happens if North Korea and its leader build an imposing arsenel of nuclear weapons and the capacity to strike anywhere they wish with them, or they sell some to the highest bidders?

Watching that program today was heartbreaking! And when I didn't feel heartbroken, I felt such frustration and anger not only at the situation in North Korea, which is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, but at the terrible things happening throughout the world that shouldn't be and don't need to be if only we could all come together and say, "No more!"